State-of-the-art esports lounge opens with fanfare and excitement

On Friday, April 5, the Otter Esports Lounge, featuring 10 high-end gaming PCs, had a ribbon cutting and soft opening on the third floor of the Otter Student Union. 

The video game lounge sits outside of, and augments, the Rookery game room, which is stocked with pool tables, foosball, ping-pong, old-school cabinet video games as well as home video game consoles. 

Before the ribbon cutting, President Vanya Quiñones told the approximately 50 people in attendance, “We are the original gamers. I’m so excited for this. We used to play Atari and Nintendo.”

“Gaming is one of the most social [pasttimes],” she continued. “It’s part of the Otter raft.” 

Dan Burfeind, senior coordinator for Student Engagement and Leadership Development, said the new space levels the playing field by breaking down cost barriers to CSUMB student gamers. Students played a big role in outfitting the room.  

“The students have been at the center of this project, providing input and feedback throughout, from selecting which games to offer to determine how the space is set up and decorated,” Burfeind said. 

Here are some key specs:

• Alienware Gaming PCs, 24-inch with full HD 1920x1080, with 32GB RAM and NVIDIA GeForce 3080 10GB graphics card
• Dedicated 10GB network with 1GB for each PC
• Noise-canceling wired HyperX Cloud Core headphones with angled 53mm drivers and 10mm microphones
• HyperX Alloy Origins keyboards with red switches

Some of the 16 games available for play include Among Us, Counter-Strike 2, Fortnite, League of Legends, Minecraft, Street Fighter 6, and The Sims 4. 

Kyle Worley, a student and president of the campus Gaming and Esports Club, was elated. 

“I grew up here. My brother went to CSUMB. I kept hoping for something like this when I got here,” Worley told the crowd. “To see something like this come to life is a dream come true.”

Jeff Rensel, director of the Otter Student Union, said the lounge is a collaboration of several campus partners, students and university leadership. 

Formal work on the lounge began in Fall 2023, but informal work with the campus esports student club preceded that by another year. 

Students can use the lounge for casual, team, or tournament play, and it is intended to foster connection and competition. 

Dylan Woodbridge, a second-year biology major from Half Moon Bay, said his biggest concern with the lounge was whether it would have adequate ventilation. That concern was alleviated once attendees were allowed inside to check out the gaming stations. 

“It feels good,” Woodbridge said. “It’s not hot inside, despite the PC power. It looks very professional and there’s a good array of games.”

More information can be found online.